This Wasn't How I Wanted To Spend Halloween!
by Roxy-chan-12
Summary: Roxas didn't ask for this. He didn't /ask/ to be dragged to a Halloween festival. He didn't /ask/ to go on a dysfunctional haunted hayride-and now, thanks to Axel's ever-stupid antics, he was probably going to die. Happy Halloween, indeed.*Rated T for swearing and minor gore*
1. 1: The HeadlessWhat?

**A/N: hey everybody! So, it's almost Halloween! :D (or is… it depends on when I finish and upload :/) and I thought it was time for some Akuroku lovin'! (no, not like "untse untse" but I don't think I've been giving them much light D: ) I was inspired by the events that transpired Oct. 20****th**** at this hayride… thing. This is not crack YAY! Enjoy!**

**~Roxy~**

This Wasn't How I Wanted to Spend Halloween: Chapter 1-The Headless…What?

_FWOOSH rattle rattle_

The thundering crash of a strong gust of wind smacking against the nearly bare branches of trees outside that scraped and snapped against the unsuspecting window, woke, quite viciously, a once slumbering Roxas. He bolted upright, flailing about just enough to get him tangled up in his comforter and send him tumbling, face first, onto the floor. He let out a strangled yelp as his forehead connected with the rough carpet. He groaned, feeling his head sliding along the floor as the rest of his body followed.

It didn't take long for hurried footsteps to make their way to the still closed door. A few gentle taps perforated the aggravated silence hanging heavily in the blonde teen's room.

"Hey, Roxas, are you okay? I heard a really loud thump."

"I'm _fine_, Sora!" Roxas shouted from his place on the floor, his voice muffled by not only the door but also the carpet.

"Okay. Come downstairs if you want breakfast." His brunette twin called back as he walked away from the door. Only a few seconds after, Roxas flopped around on his floor unceremoniously in an attempt to unfurl himself from his blanket. Once free, he stood, dusted himself off, and walked over to the mirror atop his dresser.

~o~O~o~

Eight or so minutes later, Roxas descended the stairs fully dressed and cleaned up, but not "all there". He was a night owl; he just didn't _do _mornings, unfortunately Sora did and made sure that—even on weekends—they were both up well before eight o' clock. Roxas rounded a corner into the kitchen where he saw said early-bird plating eggs and toast in his typical yellow 'Key-ss ze Cook' apron.

"Morning Roxa-" Sora started cheerily but was cut off by an unsettling glare from his brother. Sora cleared his throat and muttered, "Right, not a morning person." He wiped his hands on the apron and cocked his head in the direction of the table. "Breakfast's on the table." Roxas nodded silently and slunk his way to his usual seat. He scanned the area.

"So, where's Cloud?" he asked, voice still a bit hoarse.

"Out with Leon doing something; he didn't say what, though." Sora answered, untying the back of his apron and undoing the Kingdom Crown snaps so he could remove it and hang it back up.

The Strife twins had been living with their elder brother, Cloud for the duration of High School. When the older blonde moved out for college, he had wound up closer to Dusk Falls Senior High; the high school Sora and Roxas would later attend. So, when the first autumn of high school rolled around, the twins moved in with their brother to make the commute to and from school less of a hassle.

Sora sat down beside Roxas at the dining table and the boys ate in silence for a good five minutes before the subtle sound of vibrating and the muffled tune of _Hikari_ broke it. Sora jumped a bit in surprise and stood up, pulling his phone out and glancing at the caller ID. He turned to Roxas who was still eating and sputtered "Sorry, I've gotta take this. Be back in a jiff!" the brunette tapped the green _Talk _button and lifted the cellular device to his ear, already walking out of the room. "Heeello?" he greeted and from there, his end of the conversation became inaudible.

While Sora chatted away in some other room, Roxas finished his breakfast and carried the empty plate to the sink, rinsing it off and leaving it there to be properly washed later. As soon as the blonde was done drying his hands, a very bubbly Sora reappeared in the doorway. He shoved his phone back into his back pocket and rushed to his half eaten meal, throwing the rest down eagerly before hastily doing what Roxas had done not minutes before.

"Hey, sorry 'bout that. Just so you know, I'm leaving in," Sora checked his watch, "thirty minutes and I won't be back until tomorrow afternoon. I don't know the exact time so don't sweat that." The brunette was going a mile a minute, obviously rushing to get as much information out as he could in as little time as he could. Luckily by this point Roxas was awake enough to follow at least the general point his brother was trying to make.

He sighed, "Sora, you still haven't given me a noun or a verb." Sora stopped and grinned sheepishly.

"Sorry…" he scratched the back of his head. "Riku's coming to pick me up and we're just gonna do our annual Halloween things. I kinda thought you'd already guessed that seeing as it's the thirtieth and all."

Roxas groaned. He hadn't realized it was already so close to the end of the month. Sora giggled and dashed out of the room, yelling from the staircase, "Well, I'm gonna get ready so I don't keep him waiting when he gets here!" _will it really take you thirty minutes to get ready?_ Roxas thought to himself as he wandered into the family room nestled right next to the foyer. He fell gracelessly onto the couch and lay motionless there for quite a while. He dozed lightly for what felt like only a short bit but he was jolted awake by the tapping at their front door. _It can't have been a half hour already…_ the blonde thought as he turned his head to look at the analog clock that hung on the wall. Surely enough it had been thirty-four minutes since he flopped onto the sofa.

The tapping ceased and the light patter of footsteps drifted down from the second floor.

"Coming! Hold on a sec!" Sora called from the top of the stairs before rushing down them, black backpack stuffed and slung over his shoulder and his outrageous spikes bouncing slightly with each step. He thrust his hand forward to grab the doorknob when Roxas spoke up.

"Sora, you'd better have a sweatshirt or something packed. It's too cold for what you're wearing now." Sora pouted as he swung the door open and immediately shoved the backpack into Riku's arms.

"Hold this; I have to get a sweatshirt." Sora twirled around and took a couple steps forward before Roxas interrupted again.

"And don't leave the door open, you're letting in the cold air!" Sora let out a frustrated grunt but turned around and slammed the door. He made it about halfway up the stairs before Roxas stopped him again. "Well, don't just _leave _him out there! It's rude." The brunette rolled his eyes and scurried back down to the door, letting a very baffled Riku in and then Sora made another attempt at the stairs. "Door!" he turned on his heel, kicked the door closed and bolted back up the stairs and came down only seconds later, violet zip-up sweatshirt bundled up under his arm.

"Anything else, _mother?_" he asked exasperatedly.

"Did you pack clean underwear-"

"GAH! Yes!" Sora shoved the sweatshirt at the slightly confused silverette, yanked the door open again and sighed in relief. "Alrighty, _now_ we can go." He turned to Roxas. "Kay, Roxas, see you sometime tomorrow. Baaiiiii!" He waved his hand fervently before quickly slamming the door behind him in an attempt to escape any other nags the blonde could think of.

~o~O~o~

Roxas sat back against the soft cushions of the sofa, sighing. It was so _quiet _when he was home alone. It wasn't that he didn't enjoy peace but the silence felt thick and heavy when it was so empty in the house. He had no idea what he would do for the next few hours, probably sleep. Just as tired lids fully shut over hazy sapphire eyes, three loud knocks ruptured the tranquility and caused Roxas' eyes to snap open.

"ROXAS!"

_Knock, knock, knock_

"ROXAS!"

_Knock, knock, knock_

"ROXAS!"

Roxas screwed his eyes shut. _Maybe if I ignore him, he'll go away._

_Knock, knock, knock_

He jumped off the couch and stomped over to the front door, practically ripping it open.

"ROX-oh, hi Roxas." He was met with a toothy grin and sparkling emerald eyes.

"What do you want, Axel?" Roxas sighed, pinching the bridge of his nose in frustration. Axel pushed past the shorter of the two and leaned against a wall stuffing his hands in his pockets.

"I was gonna invite you to come with me to Moogle Prairie for their yearly Halloween festival." He slid one hand out of his pocket and ran it through his fiery spikes. Roxas blinked and shut the door.

"What's Moogle Prairie?" he asked, turning to the college student.

"It's an old-timey reenactment park. With-"

"No."

"-a bunch of log cabins and they don't-"

"Axel…"

"-use central heating. It's really authentic but-"

"No, Axel."

"-they aren't doing it on that part, they have a huuuuuge plot of land and the festival is on just a bit of that land near the entrance there's food and singing and it's really cool-"

"Gr… Axel!"

"-and there's this spooky hay ride where the _headless Chocoboman_ chases you!"

"AX-" the buildup of anger and aggravation stopped abruptly and Roxas stared at Axel, taking in what the redhead had just said, fully registering it in his brain.

"The headless what-now?"

**A/N: so, what do you think? I couldn't use headless horseman because it's too specific to our universe. I know it sounds dumb, but that's the point! :D **

**Review for a Kingdom Cookie**

**Flame for a Keyblade to the face**

**~Roxy~ **


	2. 2: The Legend of Sleepy Bastion

**A/N: So, I'm back with the second (and final) installment of **_**This Wasn't How I Wanted to Spend Halloween**_**. That's really all I have to say :D **

**~Roxy~**

This Wasn't How I Wanted to Spend Halloween: Chapter 2- The Legend of Sleepy Bastion

_9:30 pm_

"So, back to my question… the Headless _what?_" Roxas tugged the seatbelt across his chest and strapped himself into the passenger seat of Axel's slightly battered car. Axel twisted the keys in the ignition causing it to roar to life. He started to back out of the short driveway and once he was safely—as safely as the redhead could have made it—on the road he answered Roxas' twice-asked question.

"The Headless Chocoboman. Have you never heard the _Legend_?" Axel said very seriously. Roxas shook his head.

"Nope, what legend?"

"The Legend of Sleepy Bastion. It's said that in colonial times, during the _unnamed battle _of the Twilight War, one of the soldiers, who was riding his war chocobo, got his head blasted off by a stray cannon shot off by one of his comrades. Only a few years later, in woods of the creepy settlement by the name of Sleepy Bastion that's on the outskirts of town, a dark, ghostly man was spotted riding a midnight black chocobo with glowing red eyes. The man brandished a long onyx sword, and he had no head. It's said that, to this day, the undead soldier still hunts for his lost head. Some say he'll lop off an innocent victim's head to wear as a temporary replacement." Axel's grip on the steering wheel tightened and he glanced at the now petrified blonde sitting beside him.

"So… Moogle Prairie is…"

"Connected to Sleepy Bastion."

"And the hayride is…"

"Right through those scary-ass woods." The redhead confirmed. Roxas paled. Axel noticed and relaxed his grip on the steering wheel and sat back. "N-no worries though, the rickety bridge that leads into the town… he can't cross it so once we're over it, we're Scott free." He chuckled nervously and threw a glance at his terrified best friend who scratched the back of his head and cleared his throat.

"W-well, it's just a myth so it's not true." Roxas assured, mostly for his own sake than for Axel's. The redhead snickered airily, nodding.

"Yeah, I'm sure you're right."

~o~O~o~

The rest of the car ride was fairly quiet aside from the strange Halloween inspired music drifting quietly from the radio, not helping lift the uncomfortable creepiness that irked a genuinely tense Roxas. He didn't realize the car had stopped or the music had ceased until he felt a strong hand on his shoulder, shaking him rather violently.

"ROXAS!"

"Huh? What?"

"We're here." Axel stated, unbuckling the blonde's seatbelt since he was too dazed to do it himself. The strap glided across his chest and clicked back to its starting position. Roxas looked out the car door window as if to justify Axel's claim. They were indeed parked safely, but in an enormous field among other parked cars and some just coming in that were being directed by volunteers in neon vests. Roxas pulled the car door handle and swung the door open, letting himself out.

"I see they don't have a parking lot." He observed, impressed that the vacant vehicles were lined up so neatly despite the lack of parking spaces.

Axel had made his way around the car and was at Roxas' side when he rubbed the back of his neck. "Yeah. Hey, they manage it well though."

Roxas nodded and took a step forward when something warm wrapped around his hand. He looked down at the hand that was now attached to his.

"Axel… what are you doing?"

Axel hastily retracted his hand. "Ahaha, nothing, nothing!"

The blonde nodded, suspiciously, making another attempt to move forward—this time uninterrupted.

~o~O~o~

When the two made it to the main gate of the festival a perky blonde was standing at the entrance with a stack of hayride tickets in hand and a half-eaten caramel apple in his mouth. He immediately recognized Axel and Roxas.

"Owaigasth, ai iiints nao oo gaiz er kawming!" he exclaimed, failing to remove the autumn treat from his mouth.

Axel rolled his eyes fondly, "Demyx, take the apple outta your mouth."

Demyx looked a bit confused but finally realized there was, indeed, still a sugary apple on a stick attached to his teeth. He tugged it out and tried his excited greeting again. "Oh my gosh, I didn't know you guys were coming!"

"So, Demyx, I see you're volunteering here tonight." Roxas smiled, holding out his hand to receive the two light orange pieces of cardstock with their ticket information printed on them.

The sandy blonde smiled even brighter, nodding. "Look! I'm so official!" he pointed to his plastic nametag that sported a glittery smiling pumpkin sticker with his caramel apple, accidentally getting the sticky residue of the caramel on the "X" of his name. "Oh, boo!" he switched the wooden stick to his other gloved hand and used the free one to lift the nametag as far as he could, meeting it halfway with his head as he tried to lick the sweet goop off the white plastic.

"See you later, Dem." Axel laughed, walking past his friend who was so determined to clean his 'official' nametag. Roxas followed him while slipping the tickets into his hoodie pocket. Axel frowned down at him. "Aw, Roxy, won't you let _me_ hold the tickets? I paid for them, after all." He pouted.

Roxas laughed and shook his head. "No, you'd lose them. Or," he added, "you'd _burn _them on _accident_."

They made their way into the open field that was usually unoccupied but tonight was cluttered by white tents that sold all kinds of pastries, dinner food, souvenirs, and drinks. As they walked, Roxas inhaled deeply and the scents of the festival mingled with the lively atmosphere and the jovial laughter of children.

"I've got to admit, this is actually kinda nice." He said, looking around. "I haven't been to something like this since I was little." He grinned and shoved his hands in his pockets, looking over his shoulder at Axel who was a few paces behind him accepting a map from a female volunteer. Roxas waited as the redhead caught up with him, map in hand.

"Okay…" he said rotating the piece of paper in his hands, looking at it intensely.

Roxas grabbed it and flipped it, handing it back to Axel. "You had it upside down." He chuckled.

"I knew that." Axel lied, turning his eyes back to the map and then lifting them again, taking a cursory look around where they were standing. "Uh…"

"You have no idea where we're going, do you?" Roxas asked, looking up at his friend doubtfully. "It's 10:30 now and our hayride starts at eleven. You have thirty minutes to get us un-lost."

"We're not _lost_! I simply got us _misplaced_." Axel defended, still glaring at the map.

"You can't _misplace_ people, Axel." The younger teen groaned. "We could just ask for direction-"

"No! I can do this! Men don't _ask for directions!" _the redhead interrupted, holding the map closer to his face as if it would help him read the picture any better.

"Or," Roxas started, following some scattered picket signs with his eyes, "we could follow the signs that say 'Hayride this way'." He pointed to the trail of large square signs.

Axel wilted and nodded. "We could do that." He agreed hesitantly, pulling out his lighter and holding it to the corner of the paper, his thumb ready to flick the metal wheel.

"What are you doing?!" Roxas exclaimed, tugging at the taller man's wrist that held the red plastic tube.

"We don't need the map anymore so what's the point in keeping it" Axel shrugged.

"We could just _recycle it!_"

"Alright, alright." He stowed the lighter away back in his jacket pocket and dumped the map in the nearest recycle bin.

The pair changed course, walking along next to the signs until they reached the entrance. Roxas glanced at his watch. "Kay, it's 10:52. We have eight minutes before the gate opens to let the next group in. Let's just sit on those benches and wait."

Axel nodded and looked over to where the aforementioned benches were located. He groaned, "But Roxy, there are…" he shuddered, "_children_ over there." He cringed, glaring at the small playground set up next to the benches.

"Oh, grow up, Axel-"

"_They're _the ones who need to grow up!"

"Axel. There are only a few, and there won't be any on the hayride." Roxas rolled his eyes. "Besides, we're only here for another… seven minutes."

Axel's posture visibly worsened and he sighed in defeat. "Fine."

Roxas snatched the redhead's hand and dragged him over to the long slabs of wood, sitting him down and then dropping down next to him. Roxas looked up at Axel's face and chuckled. "Are you blushing? That's not like you at all."

Axel blinked, noticing the new heat that had made its way to his cheeks. "What? No! No, it's really cold. Your face is just as red." He fibbed as he turned his body and flopped his head down onto Roxas' lap. He hummed contentedly and looked up with blazing emerald eyes. Roxas flinched a bit and lifted his head to look up to where he assumed Axel was gazing.

"The stars are beautiful." Roxas smiled.

"I wasn't looking at the stars." Axel crooned.

Roxas flushed, "H-huh?"

"Nothing." Axel replied, closing his eyes.

Roxas nodded and looked back up into the sky. Something caught his eye and he shook the redhead, pointing up, "Look! The moon's full. It's huge." He stared his awe, his eyes brightening.

Axel furrowed his eyebrows. "Hm. I don't think this event has ever landed on a full moon before… interesting." He sat up, stretching when a little girl, no older than seven, scampered past the benches dressed all in black wielding a broom much too tall for her.

"Aw, what a cute little witch." Roxas cooed.

"She'd be cuter on fire." Axel cackled, slipping his lighter out again when a smaller hand clamped down on his lighter-holding hand.

"_Axel!_" he hissed, furrowing his eyebrows and scowling.

Axel never understood why his best friend adored screaming, slobbering kids so much. He shoved the lighter back into his pocket for the second time that night and sighed. "Alright, I _won't _set kids on fire." He visibly stiffened, a horrible thought pushing its way into his head, "You-uh… you don't want kids, do you Roxy?" He threw an anxious glance at the blonde.

"What? For me? No. I like kids but not enough to raise them. I don't think I could handle teenagers." He scoffed, "I can barely handle my _brother_." He laughed for a moment but quickly calmed down, a grin still on his face. "I wouldn't mind being an uncle or something, though." Roxas checked his watch again. "Oh! It's eleven already." He shot up, jerking Axel to his feet and dashing to the gate just as a voice came over the loud speaker set up by the entrance,

"_Attention! The last hayride of the night is about to board. If you have a ticket for the eleven o' clock time, please line up by the black iron gate. Reminder: individuals below the age of fourteen are prohibited from boarding this ride due to the time and the added rout extension over the bridge. That is all, thank you."_

Since Axel and Roxas were the first ones in the rather short line, they were the first to hand their slightly crinkled tickets to one of the volunteers manning the gate. From there a moogle dressed in colonial attire guided them along the dirt trail to the Hayride pickup. As they were walking, the moogle began talking of the attraction.

"The evil that lurks within these woods has frightened away anyone who has neared them kupo. However, you are not from around Sleepy Bastion, are you kupo? I must warn you, the headless Chocoboman is still questing for a head and-" the furry creature turned to Roxas, and then to Axel, and then back forward, "-you two seem good candidates kupo. If he sees you, he will take a swing at your throat, kupo. Don't lose your head kupo. Here is where we must part kupo. Safe travels… kupo." With that testament, the small flying moogle made a U-turn and floated back the way it came.

"Cool. This is so authentic, huh Roxy?" Axel nudged the blonde's shoulder.

"Yeah-hey! Cloud, what're you doing here?" He asked, jogging to his older brother who was apparently on break, leaning against the wooden fence that surrounded the small loading area.

The elder blond groaned. "Because you and Sora ruined my _last _job… and Tifa said volunteer work would be good for me." He ran his fingers through his hair, nodding his head in the direction of the hay filled cars. "You should get on before they take off without you."

Roxas nodded and turned to leave when Cloud stopped him. "Hey, be careful, okay? Something doesn't feel right."

"I bet it's just the atmosphere. It's nothing." Roxas assured his brother before running back to the cars. Cloud sighed, "I hope so…"

~o~O~o~

Axel shooed off the male volunteer that was reaching to help Roxas into the hayride and proceeded to lift the blonde up himself and then climb in after him. The flaming redhead situated himself with his back against the wooden fence that kept the ride-goers from tumbling over the side and motioned for Roxas to sit next to him. Roxas did so without protest, sitting in the same manner the older teen did and inching close.

"It's gotten really cold." The blonde complained, not acknowledging the fact that Axel had draped his arm around his shoulders. His attention was soon drawn to the shifting of the cart, signaling more people settling in. Roxas' eyes drifted shut; not that he was sleepy, he was just making sure he was completely calm before the ride started.

"Roxas! Axel! What're you guys doing here?" an overexcited voice shattered the calm silence.

Roxas' eyes snapped open and he sat up more. "Sora? Why are _you_ here? Isn't this a little scary for you?"

"Oh, I'm not alone-" at that moment someone jumped up and over the fence, completely ignoring the rickety metal ramp propped up against the still open gate of the cart that everyone else had used to get in. Sora threw his arms around the newest occupant. "I have Riku!"

"That doesn't answer my question, Sora." Roxas sighed, pinching the bridge of his nose.

"Hm? Oh, we come to this every year. It's part of our annual Halloween tradition." The brunette beamed happily, still attached to Riku. "Why are _you _here, guys?" he asked looking between the two sitting across from him.

"I thought Roxy needed to get out of the house for a while." Axel shrugged, pulling Roxas closer. Sora nodded, accepting that as a legitimate answer.

One last person climbed onto their cart before a volunteer pulled the metal ramp away and yet another volunteer shut the gate and locked it. Sora had detached himself from Riku and was now just leaning his head on the silverette's shoulder, smiling. Roxas sat leaning slightly into Axel who still had his arm around the younger boy. Everyone jolted a bit when the tractors lurched forward, rolling into the woods. Roxas glanced around and swallowed hard.

"We're on the tail end…" he scooted closer to Axel who was exhilarated by the observation.

"Hey, that just means more excitement!"

Said excitement dimmed during the very beginning of the ride. They made their way along the assigned route, through fog and the quiet scraping of leaves when the wind blew. Roxas had settled back against Axel who leaned his head down and dipped into soft blonde spikes. He inhaled, sighing quietly.

"Hm… Paopu and Citrus…" he murmured against Roxas' head.

Roxas shifted out from under Axel's head and gave him a scrutinizing stare.

"Were you… _sniffing _my hair?" he asked before tacking on, "And how do you know what kind of shampoo I use?"

"Huh? What? No! Uh- you-uh, you use shampoo?" Axel stumbled over his words and Roxas raised an eyebrow.

"Of course I use shampoo."

"H-hahaa, right of cou-" Axel was cut off as the cart his a rough bump, causing a few surprised yelps. He craned his neck to look back at what they'd hit and nodded in approval. "Nice, they even have a headless dummy like it's one of the victims."

Roxas paled, getting close to the redhead once again.

The ride continued without much disturbance. There were eerie sounds, spooky fog—the works. Eight minutes had passed with no sign of the headless Chocoboman. This didn't sit well with some of the passengers.

"Shouldn't we have seen our pursuer by this point?" the other three occupants of their car turned to Riku. "I mean, it's been eight minutes and this is only a fifteen minute ride. And what's more, isn't this supposed to be _scarier_ than the original course? There haven't even been any jump-scares." He leaned back against the fence, crossing his arms. "I think ther-"

_KWEY_

The piercing shriek cut the skeptical teenager off and everyone looked around trying to find the source of the terrible noise. Roxas gasped and everyone whipped their heads around to look behind the car where two large glowing red eyes grew closer. A few ride-goers screamed and some just watched in shock and awe. A long, onyx blade closed in on the hayride, drifting to the side that Sora, Riku, and the other passenger sat. Realizing the murderous weapon wasn't stopping the silverette shoved Sora's head into the hay and shouted, "Duck!" before dipping his own head down, barely saving his neck from the blade. Unfortunately the poor soul sitting beside Riku wasn't so lucky and was now headless, laying limp against the side of the cart, blood gushing and spurting from his throat. Roxas and Sora let out unison cries of panic and distress, Riku sat petrified, and Axel was convinced this was all part of the act.

"Wow! That's really realistic! That looks like an actual person who just got their head chopped off! And wow, what a convincing Headless Chocoboman! How did they get the chocobo's eyes to do that?"

"Axel! That innocent man just DIED!" Roxas shouted, his voice shaky, gesturing at the limp, headless man across the wagon.

"What? No, that's just fake blood." He assured.

"And that justifies why that was almost my brother and Riku?" he barked, moving his gesture to his sobbing brother and Riku who was attempting to comfort him.

Axel crawled over to the corpse and wiped some of the still wet blood off his neck, bringing it to his lips and licking the dark red liquid, immediately coughing and wiping the remaining blood on his jeans.

"O-okay… I get it now. So, who wants to ride with the stiff?" he said jutting his thumb in the direction of the dead body. There was no answer so Axel lifted the cold bundle of limbs and dumped him out of the wagon.

"Well you didn't have to _dump him out like that!" _Roxas yelled, pulling the redhead back to where he had sat before, not waiting to clutch Axel's shirt and bury his face into the older teen's chest.

Sora wiped his eyes, composing himself when he let out a strangled giggle, bringing up his hand to muffle it further.

"Sora! This is no time to be laughing! What's got you so amused anyway?" Riku scolded, shocked that the oversensitive brunette was giggling at a time like this. Sora pointed to Riku who gave him a quizzical look.

"H-hair." Sora said between chuckles. Riku's hands shot up to his neck. About a foot of silver tresses were missing. An aquamarine eye twitched but he quickly brushed it off for the time being and gripped Sora's shoulders.

"That's not important right now." He pushed Sora to the center of the wagon. "Right now we should all just stay calm and move to the center."

Axel nudged Roxas to the center and wrapped him in a hug as the four teens awaited the return of the evil spirit.

_Thank god, there's the bridge!_ Roxas thought, relieved.

_KWEY KWEY_

Everyone stiffened at the chilling screech. Just as the midnight black chocobo came into sight, the wagon began to rumble over the uneven planks of wood that made up the closed bridge. The angry thunderous clatter of the bridge echoed loudly through the closed space. Roxas chanced a glance behind the cart. His breath hitched when the Headless Chocoboman chased them on the bridge with ease. The terrified blonde turned to Axel.

"I THOUGHT YOU SAID HE COULDN'T CROSS BRIDGES!" Roxas screamed.

"I JUST SAID THAT TO MAKE YOU FEEL BETTER!" the redhead yelled in return just before the headless specter took a swing at the group of cowering teenagers. "ROXAS!"

"WHAT!?"

"I JUST WANT YOU TO KNOW THAT, IF WE DON'T MAKE IT OUT OF THIS ALIVE, I LOVE YOU!"

"WHAT!?" Roxas yelped once they had successfully crossed the covered bridge.

Everyone fell silent when a shadow darted out from behind one of the colonial houses accompanied by the loud roar of an engine. The motorbike stopped directly in front of the ghostly bird, stalling the now confused spirit. All the teens heard as they drove away was their savior telling the apparition off.

"You think you're such hot shit?!" the bright light of a maximum strength flashlight illuminated the dark headless man, causing him to moan. "You're _nothing _compared to Sephiroth and _his_ annoying ass!" that was the last the group heard before the yelling became inaudible.

"Was that… Cloud?" Roxas asked, looking to his twin who shrugged in response.

~o~O~o~

Once safely back in the street lights back at the pickup and drop-off area, the four climbed out of the wagon, Riku having to carry Sora on his back since he was still shaken from the events.

"I'm going to take him home and calm him down, see you guys later." The silverette began walking away when Axel stopped him.

"Hey, Riku, you might want to get a proper hair cut tomorrow." He snickered at the embarrassed expression he got from the subject of his teasing.

Once the other two had disappeared from sight, Roxas came up to Axel from behind.

"So, what was that you wanted to tell me?" he asked, leaning on the redhead.

"Huh? O-oh… well you know those things you say when you're about to die?" he trailed off, looking down at Roxas who looked hurt.

"So, you don't _actually _love me?" he leaned away but was pulled back to Axel's chest.

"No, I do, I do! I just didn't want you to get mad at me." he bent down enough to plant a chaste kiss on Roxas' forehead but was surprised when his lips met another set. The blonde had tilted his head up at the last second. Axel pulled back, cheeks a tone darker and he cleared his throat.

"Axel…" The redhead jumped a bit at his name being spoken.

"Hm?"

"Can we go home? I think I've had enough excitement for one lifetime." Roxas chuckled airily.

Axel picked him up bridal style, getting a squeak from the blonde and a mumble of protest. "Sure, babe." For the third time that night, the fiery college student pulled out his lighter and held it to the dry hay in the wagon, smiling as he felt the heat of fire as it fully engulfed the straw and wood.

"AXEL!"

~o~O~o~

Not long after the last two left, Cloud pulled back into the loading area on his motorcycle. He sighed, rubbing his temple.

"This isn't good for my heart." He murmured angrily when he opened his glassy blue eyes. Something bright caught his attention out of his peripheral. He turned his entire head and brought his hands up, tangling his fists in his blonde spikes, yelling angrily, "WHO SET THE WAGONS ON FIRE!?" the fuming Strife ripped the plastic nametag from his shirt and threw it down into the hay, revving his engine and driving full speed away from Moogle Prairie. "I'M DONE WITH THIS!"

Once on the highway, Cloud yanked his cell phone from his pocket and tapped the speed dial.

"Hey, Cloud, is something wro-"

"We're moving, Leon!"

"Huh? Why?"

"Start packing, I'll be home in a half hour!" Cloud then hung up and left a very confused Leon on the other end.

"That's the last time those four are ruining a perfectly good job of mine!" he growled to himself as he sped down the lamp-lit road.

**A/N: Aww… poor Cloud! xD if you want to read about how the gang ruined Cloud's first job, read "I Should Never Have Taken My Boyfriend Grocery Shopping!" by my sister, Slaycinder! :D **

**HAPPY HALLOWEEN!**

**Review for a Kingdom Cookie**

**Flame for a Keyblade to the face!**

**~Roxy~**


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